Iconic Felix Chevrolet dealership among stores sold in 4 states

An iconic downtown Los Angeles dealership has new owners, a group bolstered its Kia portfolio, an acquisitive auto retailer expanded again and a Stellantis dealership changed hands, all in three fourth-quarter transactions and one deal that closed this week.

Here’s a look at the deals involving domestic and import stores and dealerships in California, Florida, Tennessee and Indiana.

Two transactions involved an auto retailer ranked on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups.

Auto retail investment company Open Road Capital and Rinaldi Halim on Dec. 19 bought an iconic Chevrolet dealership in California — known for its sign featuring Felix the Cat.

Open Road and Halim bought Felix Chevrolet in Los Angeles, a dealership dating back to 1921, from owners Darryl Holter and his wife, Carole Shammas, Tim Batchelor, an Open Road Capital partner, confirmed to Automotive News.

Open Road and Halim retained the store’s long-standing name, Batchelor said.

Halim told Automotive News that he is friends with the sellers, and they felt comfortable selling the store to him. He called the dealership “more than just a business.”

Open Road first partnered with Halim in late 2021, buying a majority stake in three Monrovia, Calif., dealerships and buying a majority stake in Halim’s two other Stellantis dealerships in California. One of those stores is the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store in downtown Los Angeles, just blocks away from Felix Chevrolet.

Halim said having the ability to buy the iconic Felix Chevrolet store just blocks away from his Stellantis store was “really meaningful.”

Holter in 2017 sold his downtown Los Angeles Group dealerships to Lithia Motors Inc. but kept Felix Chevrolet because of its storied history. Holter said his father-in-law bought the dealership in 1955.

Holter helped to rejuvenate the historic auto row on Figueroa Street, creating a business improvement district that has featured several new builds of auto dealerships and other redevelopment near the USC campus.

It was through the neighborhood that Holter met Halim.

“I liked his approach, and he understood what I was talking about when I talked about the legacy of the auto row on Figueroa,” Holter said.

The site, still owned by Holter and Shammas, features a new four-story service and parts building.

“We kept the historic showroom in place. We kept the historic sign in place,” Holter said. “But we built everything new behind it.”

Expanding Ken Ganley Automotive Group made its first acquisition of 2023 and further bolstered its Kia dealership portfolio with a second-quarter purchase.

Ken Ganley Automotive on Wednesday bought Friendly Kia in New Port Richey, Fla., from John Gilliss, CEO Ken Ganley confirmed to Automotive News.

The dealership was renamed Ken Ganley Kia New Port Richey. New Port Richey is northwest of Tampa.

Ganley said he is partners with Bob Serpentini at Performance Nissan in Pompano Beach, Fla. But he said the New Port Richey store is the first he owns in Florida on his own.

“We’ve had it on our radar screen for quite a while to find opportunities down here,” Ganley said. “It’s not easy. Florida’s a great market, particularly the location that we ended up in here. It’s tough to find opportunities, but this one, we’re thrilled with.”

The acquisition is Ganley’s latest Kia dealership purchase. In November, he bought two Kia stores in Ohio. He also bought a West Virginia Kia dealership in September and another Kia store in Ohio at the beginning of 2022.

Ganley said JT Taylor, managing director of automotive at Truist Securities, represented him in the Florida transaction.

Ken Ganley Automotive ranks No. 14 on Automotive News‘ most list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 36,409 new vehicles in 2022.

Victory Automotive Group capped an active buy-sell year in 2022 with the acquisition of a GM dealership.

Victory Automotive of Canton, Mich., on Dec. 15 bought Dave Kirk Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in Crossville, Tenn., from Dave Kirk, Rodger Olson, Victory Automotive’s COO, confirmed to Automotive News in an email.

The dealership name remains. Crossville is west of Knoxville. Victory Automotive also has a Stellantis dealership and a Ford store in Crossville, according to its website.

The December deal marked Victory Automotive’s first acquisition since it bought a Honda store in California in August, Olson confirmed. The group bought and sold several other dealerships throughout 2022.

Tim Lamb Group, a buy-sell firm in Columbus, Ohio, represented Kirk in the Tennessee transaction.

Victory Automotive ranks No. 19 on Automotive News‘ most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 28,535 new vehicles in 2022.

Andy Mohr Automotive purchased a Stellantis dealership in Indianapolis from Fernando Falcon, according to a Dec. 22 Indianapolis Business Journal story.

A Dec. 22 post from the dealership’s Facebook page also shared news of the acquisition.

Falcon partnered with Chrysler and its minority dealership program in 2003 to become minority owner of the former Champion Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram, before becoming sole owner in April 2007, according to Falcon’s LinkedIn page.

Andy Mohr purchased Hyundai and Kia dealerships from Falcon about five years ago, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Renamed Andy Mohr Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, the purchase marks the 12th franchised dealership for the group, all in Indiana. This is the group’s only Stellantis store, according to its website.

Andy Mohr Automotive started with one dealership in 1992 and also has four collision centers and a heavy-duty truck center, according to its website.